“Gustav Stickley was instrumental in promoting the arts and crafts movement with his distinctive style of furniture. The furniture is often described as simple, almost rustic, and well made. In addition to his furniture business, headquartered in Eastwood, New York, Stickley published The Craftsman and owned and operated the Craftsman Restaurant atop the Craftsman Building in New York City. His furniture business operated until 1915, when Stickley was forced to declare bankruptcy.

“Papers contain material relevant to Stickley’s business concerns and include cash vouchers, stock information, minutes, correspondence, cash receipts, time sheets, payroll records, and glass-plate negatives that were used for the production of Stickley furniture trade catalogues.”

A Gustav Stickley rocking chair (note label on bottom)

Label on bottom of rocking chair reads:

The name “CRAFTSMAN” is our
registered TRADE MARK and
identifies all our furniture~
CRAFTSMAN Rocker
Made by Gustav Stickley in the
CRAFTSMAN WORKSHOPSEastwood New York
New York City Showrooms

29 West Thirty-fourth Street

” Research in California has documented the high costs to workers and employers of commuting and traffic congestion. These costs include lost hours, fuel, traffic accidents and environmental damage.”– Economic Benefits of a Walkable Community

3 thoughts on “History”

Thanks for the slideshow of historic Eastwood. My father was a young boy in the 1930’s living in Eastwood. I have been trying to find something he will recognize, as he has dementia and most often vividly remembers things he did when he was young. I can’t wait to show him your photos! About 10 years ago he started writing a life story, which ironically was very short, but included much detail about his childhood in Syracuse. Here are a few things that my father, Edwin Ambrose, wrote about living in your town around 1935:

“My first travel recollection is when I was in kindergarten, in Syracuse, N.Y. I was around six years old, and kids under 6 could ride free on city buses. So one day a pal and I boarded a bus in front of the Eastwood School and rode it all the way to downtown, maybe two miles. Once there we played hide-and-seek among the tall buildings. Somehow we got separated. Luckily I knew where I was – I have always had good geographic orientation – and the way home, and walked it all the way.

That summer my mother, sister and I traveled to Norway to see our relatives – both my mother and father had emigrated from Norway, meeting and marrying in Syracuse. After four months there, I forgot my English and spoke only Norwegian – partially as a result of going to a local school in Stavanger with my cousin. Upon my return the public school wanted me to place me for another year in kindergarten. My father rejected this, yanked me out, and sent me to the nearby Catholic school, which properly put me in the first grade.

Another time I caught my foot in a drain pipe, and the fire department had to be called to extricate it. This event appeared as a news item, with my photograph, in our local paper. To this day I don’t know why I did it. (I would love to find that article!)

Again, at age six, I began work as a delivery boy for the Saturday Evening Post. My mother helped, by soliciting a sale to a friend who lived a mile away, on the other side of the city reservoir. I walked it, receiving the nickel that the Post cost at that time.

Lastly, my memories from Woodbine Ave. included the grocery store on the corner, where we could buy chocolate-covered mints for one cent. If we were lucky and bought one with a pink-mint center, we were given our choice of a nickel-candy bar! I still wonder about the value of this!”